Behind The Films

Mountain in My Mind (MIMM) is a ski and snowboard film series about mental health created by innovative Director, John Padilla. The Rocky Mountain states like Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, California and Alaska lead the country in youth suicide rates per capita. And if you hone in further on ski communities, you will unfortunately discover that these communities are affected by suicide rates that are even higher than their statewide averages. This region has been dubbed as North America’s “suicide belt.”

John Padilla lost his fifteen year old brother, Jack, to suicide on February 14th of 2019. Since then, John has dedicated his life to erasing the stigma behind mental health and bringing the teen suicide rate to zero. John and his family chose to try and tell Jack’s story far and wide in an effort to reach these goals. While taking time away from his studies at Montana State University, John appeared in hundreds of news interviews, testified in front of Colorado’s congressional legislature to unanimously pass Jack and Cait’s Law, organized school walkouts, interviewed for Childhood 2.0: a Living Experiment, worked with Colorado’s Governor to have February 14th officially declared as Jack Padilla Day, fundraised and created a scholarship to send disadvantaged young adults to college to become mental health practitioners, joined the National Mental Health Advisory Board, conducted research on youth mental health care in rural Montana, built the country’s first teen mental health summit, and much more.

JOHN

JACK

$120,000+

Dollars raised for local suicide prevention

Support
75+ Events Hosted

Shows with gear giveaways and a keynote speech

See a Premiere
12,000 and counting

Amazing new friends and fans

See a Show
82 Lives Saved

(that we know of)

Resources

How it started

The idea for MIMM was born out of a viral Newschoolers thread where John stated that he wanted to lead the charge for destigmatizing mental health in mountain towns by creating a film featuring industry-insiders and professional athletes. The idea was welcomed with open arms and an outpouring of support from brands across the snowsports industry quickly followed. John created a giveaway with the gear he received to raise enough money to buy a camera and production gear.

In between receiving his Bachelor’s degrees in Cellular Biology and Neuroscience and an Honors Bachelorette and starting graduate school for a Master’s in Business Innovation and Management, John travelled more than 36,000 miles to film and interview each person and ultimately create the first film of its kind. With no film-background, John relied heavily on his passion for both mental health and snowsports to bring the film to life.

How it’s going

In order for the films to reach and serve people in the communities that need it most, the Suicide Prevention Ski Film Tour was born. Each Fall, John personally travels to premiere the newest film in around 25 mountain towns across the United States, Canada, Europe, and New Zealand. Each stop functions as a local fundraiser where revenue is then donated to a local suicide-prevetnion non-profit, ensuring that the money raised by the community stays in that community. To date, Mountain in My Mind has hosted more than 75 live events and raised more than $120,000 for hyper-local suicide prevention efforts in Mountain towns across the world.

Mountain in My Mind now employs esteemed cinematographer and editor, Ben Kaden to lead our production efforts. Many of the athletes in the first film now have supporting roles, like running sled doubles, hauling gear, operating cameras, and helping with safety operations during filming. In essence, Mountain in My Mind is more than just a film series, it’s a community of passionate individuals willing to relieve their hardest moments on film – and put their bodies on the line – to provide hope to anyone who needs it.

LESSONS LEARNED (SO FAR)

For us at Mountain, solving the suicide epidemic that the ski industry faces in mountain towns everywhere begins with making ourselves vulnerable; telling our stories openly, honestly, and unapologetically. The skiing and talent is what will likely draw viewers into MIMM, but the candid, raw, and real stories behind each skier are what will inspire the next generation of skiers to address mental health directly. If you take anything away from John’s story and the films, let it be this: There is light at the end of the tunnel. It is totally okay not to be okay. Talk to anyone who will listen when you need help. And, for those of you who do not struggle with any sort of mental illness, be there for those who do. Ask the hard questions to those who seem the happiest and light up every room they enter because more often than not, those are the people who are struggling the most. Be direct and ask: do you have a suicide plan? You never know what their answer could be. Your conversation could save a life. Indeed, to turn tragedy into triumph is the most noble thing a person can do.